Filter press



Nov. 24, 1931. P. w. PRu'fZMAN FILTER PRESS 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed March 5, 1930 co on o on PAUL. W PRUTZ MAN //VVEN:W

FIG. I

Nov.- 24, 1931 1 PRUTZMAN 1,833,335

FILTER PRESS Filed March 5. 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PAUL w. PRUT MAN Patented Nov. 24, 1931 r j v p r UNITED sures PATENT; orricsj v j @AULW. 'PRUTZMAIT onnos An ELEs, CALIFORNIA. v k y f V METER- PRESS I -App1icatibn filed'March 3;"1930. Serial No. 432,770.

eraltypeknownas thepla'te andfreme press, invention is directed. p composed of metalplates having corrug atedv A specrfie embod ment of myunventlon 1's; surfaces on Which'the filtering medium. rests". filustreted 1n the attached drawmgsandthe and with channels within the. plates for the: p lowlng descrlptmnthereof, the mod1fi ca 5 escape of liquids which pass throughthetlon shown bemgpartlcularly adapted tothe tering medium, these plates being; separated .fil r tlon of lubrlcatlng or othe 011s; at temby; abutting flanges around their outer 011: p l etllresclose to those at whlchvapors are cumference, cast integral with the platesand ly evolved, a d the descrlptlon gwe 7 3 invention relates ;to epress ofthegem' and it is to meet these requirements'thatmy forming chambers for the reception of unfilc nn n i h p fi Ope t tered mixture and for the agcumula tjgn f be LIIlClGIStOOd I (101101], the cakes of solid matter extracted from the, u Of y invention 31.1011 OPGTLtlOII, i it mixtureb, A. t V t p has numerous-other uses, nor tothe exact My invention, however, departs 'from .the s r q u e Shown, as it may he materially i'ordin'ary construction of plate and frame qcl e fih all dep mg omthe presses in several importz mt ,particulars,' r p f of y l l whlch I Would l1m1t specifiezrlly, 111 plaelng the hlterlng surfaces; 1 55E 1E3 t t edqleg 1 t s e tthe interestsmisses tlcaos1 1011 m provl mg mee anlca means; J t I I for lgmovin the cakev rapidly through a 3 y'l e f q Parts e g broken y "ma central opening and in. enclosing the filter; w F 131491101 F IL; 4 plates Within avertical steel shell, the ob: g- 2 S? cross e t of portlollls"of jest being to produce a press adapted to meet 1 I te g l f r r f l certzuu speclfic and unusual requrrements' ga P l 0 P lQF 0 1 jratlier than-to produce an lmproved press; %51? ilt ri g p efl 1 forthe general servlce. r r f g- 13 P an Q P r dtyp 0 1. In certain chemical operations, as or in- LQ P PI f stancethe treatment of petroleum oils with t? tlg:l 1,-

lsha erimal deoolorlzmg clays elevatedtemperatures, 1 1 1 t t P M9: lkvl ig a as e *1t 1s essentmlor lnghly' ClGSII'ZL'blG YtO filter 2 g 1916130 t mp 1 Without any materiel drop in temperature; P3 e l r -yang fi l-l glv lchfisbolted to mamtaln thetsbollds 111" iuspenlsron: in the g ilflan glu-fi gfi' ewia iii-L fg PPeii 1i 'd a to o'tain uni orm 'cistri ution." 3 'o tl le-sdlidz over the filteringsurfacmto TBS-1' l be Such Strength to Withstand, "duce tore minimumthe 'coolingvo'fthe press:v hq S lf Q the maximum pressurej duringthe eleaningstegeof the cycle, andato g fi a de %n g dlscharge the cakes vwlthout und-ugeggposure f c; i llfi lgv- 1 1 1 l P Qfi to the zur and UIIClGIiCOIiCllfilOIlS WhlCl'l'. W111: a 789 m Q; 1 2 1 mlneters 0 avoid the. formation. of noxiousor infi'ztmL rb i i t S ZLY.Y S "3 sh w 5 "we; e mswe t ?re ewse itt5btiiitiQtitfiti;1 Present i ?1W PP ee n te f e l me being used fining, eedino ianw anirlfsomg qxja'u'of m m many lhe empty ing theshell. I To the end of th? noz" m h m q t yq zle is'attaehed efistraightqvayvalve 15 on, 45 of 701M311? mm lf 9 l l l md other preferred device for holding the press.

and g producmga ak 9 9; pressure when closed and exposing theennot safely he ez c'p osedto the 311 until afte tire areafof the nozzlewhen e lm or othsrfirsatment These r e e p e fi s dic t d a the l wer-endlof this mentsare not met by any'of the venous type valve; f i sertion i t a 1 d= onta 50- of filter press heretofore known or proposed, for presscake when it is desired toemptythe,

press without bringing the cake into contact with airs At the point of junction of shell with bottom 11 a plurality of small blocks or lugs 17 are placed for supporting the lower member of the stack of plates in a truly horizontal position.

Within the shell is placed a stack oithe plates 28,any one of which is shown onanenlarged scale and in more detail inFigsr2 and 3; The web 18 of the plate has a central opening 19 which sliould'be of substantially the diameter vof the nozzle 13. The web is surrounded by a doubleflange or ring 20. This ring may be of the sameheight on each side of the web but it is preferable to make it visibly higher on one face than on the other 1 'may'alw'ays'be put backinthe same order after removal, as Otherwise it will be difficult to'insert theefiluent pipes later described."

so that the plates will always-be inserted with the sameside'up, this in particular if the upper faces, ot the web are not-sloped 1towar'd the center as shown. The. plates should also be numberedserially so that they :such as to enablet'he plate to slide easily within the circumscribing shell 10,but too much side play should notbe allowed as the faces should abut squarely. 1 It is desirable to place one or 'mo e dowels 22 and corresponding pins'23' in these faces, to'aid in placing the plates in the'proper angular posi- 'ment of the metallic filtering media.

tion for insertion of the efiluent pipes. It more than one pin is used the spacing should be irregular so that registration of'dowels lwith pins would be possible inonly the correct angular position;

Circumferentially inside the ring 20 and around the central opening 19, are formed narrow smooth faces 24 and 25 for the attachtweenthese rings and over themajor part of the area of each plate the surface i.s'cor' rugated'or roughened in anyof the well 7 known manners of corrugati'ng filter plates.

The manner shown in the drawings, which will be understood to be illustrative only,"

7 consists oftwo series of parallel V grooves 26 =interse cting ata right angle and so spaced V in relation to their depth as to form truncated pyramids 27 projecting front the body of V shell ,byreadily' removablebolts indicated at 41, and should be of such-stifin'ess'fas to rig id,

the plate; These projectionssupport the 7 filtering medium and the grooves conduct the filtrate, inthe directions of least resist ance, to a circumferential channel 29 formed in the face ofthe plate just inside the flattened portion 24. 1

If the body of the plate and atone point only in its circumference is formed an opening 30which, at its outer end, is enlarged and tapped witha bottomed pipe thread 31. The

inner end of thisopening shouldbe of the same internal diameter as the pipe which fits thread 31. A corresponding opening of slightly larger diameter is made through shell 10 and'a stufling'box is made fast to the shell over this opening, this box consisting'of the body-33 and a screw cap34, both being adapted to receive the pipe 32 which fits thread 31.

Soft packing being placed in the annular space 3.5 and the pipe 32 being turned smooth "where this packing engages, the eflluent from the filter platesis conducted through the wall of the shell while the pipes may be removed at will-to permit: removal of the plateau A hole 36 is drilled from the circumferential channel 29, on each side of the plate, to

communicate with the inner end ofopening l 30. Liquid passing through the filtering;

medium thus makes its way through the intersecting grooves to the nearest-portion of channel 29, along this channel to the hole 36 and the -communicating-opening 30, and

thence through pipe 32 to the exterior of the,

The filter cloth must be of the most durable character, as the designot the press is such" that it must be entirely dismounted to replace 1 a cloth, and must be as completely protected from damage'as possible. I prefer a Monelmetal cloth, of the preferredfineness and character of mesh, which ofcourse dependson the characteristics of the liquid and the solid being separated. --This cloth maybe placed directly .on-the'points of the plateproj ections, i but I prefer to supportand protect it in the following manner, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. A stilt and substantial wire mesh screen 37, preferably fiat rolled,:is first placed over the corrugated portion ot'the plate, overlapping onto the smoothed portions 24and 25'. The. filter cloth 38 is placed over this screen, and

finally a screen 39. havingthesame characteristics: as screen is placed..on"top, all'thes e. screens being cut into rings whose inner and v 11c 25 and-241.. These edges are then made fast by* outer edges fall on the said smoothed portions brazing or soldering to the plate,;as indicated at 40z-fGreat care should be taken to have these screen assemblies lie flatandsmooth so 'asgnot toyproject into the path of the scrapers, and the work of attaching may well bedonein a press which williforcethe-screens into theiri final position while exposing. the "edges to be attached. i Y 1 The upper bumped head iis' attached to.

ly support theshaft driving gear. indicated tached'two" pipe nozzles 42' and 43, onetor the other forjadmittin g steamvor other fluid for ejecting the liquid contents of the press and for cleaning the cakes, as will' be de-f scribed. I

T arra g m nts ndieated at A for d ip ingthe scraper shaftmay be varied over a W de range and the d gn S QW i l iistra re on yh s t t vhich a i ss' an rev lves th scrapers is exactly .cen'teredinthe shell; It may be supported at its lower end by a bracket and bearingbox 46,. attached to one side of the nozzle 18, thetwo eollars 47 and 48 limiting respectivelyits upward and its downward 1nove1nentj This shaft must be suiiiciently stiff not to whip or chatter when the scrapers bite into the cake in the cleaning stage of the cycle, and may, if preferred, be

ve n rmedi t siirpel't r m on or mo of the plates. f The shaft passes throngh the upper head of the shell through a stiifing box 49. Above this shaft a ball thrust bearing 50 is removably afiixed to the shaft. The lower or free half of this bearing is engaged and support.- ed by a yoke on the free end of a lever 51 which is swivelled on a 'pin .52 to a convenient portion of the rigid frame 53 Which is at; tachedto head 12. The fixed end of this lever carries a swivelling threaded nut engagmg a long screw 54 which revolves 1n bearings 55 and 56 made fast to frame 53. To one end of this screw is rigidly affixed a bevel or Worm gear 57 actuated by a pinion 58 which is carried on the end of a shaft 59. This shaft is supported by a bearing 60' aiiixed to frame 53 and has at its opposite end a hand crank 61. If the gear and pinion combination is j not, so proportioned as to be irreversible a clamp or other means of locking shaft 59 must be provided, to prevent thespontaneous lowering of scraper shaft 44 during the fil-j tering stage of'the operation.

- The upper end of shaft 44 is squared or splined and slides verticallyin correspondingsocket 62 on theend of an aligned shaft 63, which is carried in'bearings 64 and 65 on frame 53. To this shaft is affixed a worm or bevel gear 66 actuated by acorresponding pinion 67. This pinion is affixed to a shaft 68 which is carried in boxes 69 and"70 attached to suitable brackets projecting from the side of frame 53. To the end 'of this shaft opposite the pinion is afiixed a universal joint "71 by which the shaft is dlrectly revolved by an electric motor 72. The gear ratios must be such that't-he shaft 44 may be powerfully actuated at a relatively 'lowspee'd, say from 10 to 20 R.

()n "turning the hand crank 60 overhand, screw 54 is revolved lefthand and the free end of the lever is raised; this end acting on the lower half of the thrust bearing positively lifts the shaft and scrapers, the squared end ofthe shaft sliding in the socket 62. On a reverse movement of the hand crank the shaft and scrapers are allowed to lower themselves by their own weight. units of small size,

or where the spring spacing device later referred'tois used, it is preferable to have y ke ngag th the upper a d lov r s e of the thrust bearing, whichmay be replaced by a simple double-j faced disc, thuspositiyelyi lowering sh f 4 a dthe ra r ar e reon. i

The scrapers 45 be of cast ironwitll- I a ,central hub surrounding shaft 44 and af} fixed thereto by pins 01' S6? screws or the may be of OZlShHlQtll and the scrapers besteel bars bolted tofthe hub. "In case the scrapers are rigidly afiixedto the shaft'in either inan her the stop collars 4'] and 48 mat so spaced that the scrapers 45,..at thelimit of their travel, will "closely approach but not a e;

drag on this screen it will he rapid ly. worn wally t uch th s side eens 3. att ste t Pl a ifthe crap s a alle s- 1 othrough and destroyed and, with "it, the filtering cloth beneath. Positive protection against this unfortunate occurrence may provided by. making shaft 44 square between bearing 46fand stutting hox'l49', as indicated at 44 in 2, providing square sockets in the scraper hubs, separating the scrapers by means ofcoil springs 73 '(the scrapers being otherwise free to move. vertically q fthe a and pr v din ra d ies 7 s re the central opening, these lips being ofsuch height as to engage the scraper before t touches the screen. The height of this lip'is greatly exaggerated in 2, the actual thickness of the three screenlayers being not r a h h g f th li ear /r7 It is desirable to so shape the scrapers as to positively urge the broken cake toward the central opening, in particularif'plates having flat upper faces 7 are used. The straight radial scraper indicated 45a Fig. 4 tends to move the material away from the central opening and toward the outside of the chamber. A blade tangential'to the hub, as indicated at 456, tends to move vthe" uppermost plate, this ring bearing against the bottom 0f--head 12 and being of such depth that on drawing up bolts .41 any slight warp in the plates will be straightened and the plates brought down to .a on lugs 17 and on each other. V

The above d bed appa a u i as erted he f l w g ma ne tain. ette eaee I accumulate clay faster than the top I Wlll bGf ,desirable to circulate .7 an experts andauxiliaries being described and illus trated whlch are extraneousto the press lililllland being disclosed only to illustrate an ap-.

proved manner'ot operation.

Liquid to befiltered, such as hot oil con taining finely dividedclay in suspension, is

, brought through a; pipe 7? from a sourceof 83controlledb 'a valve 84' line 81 being c y 71 a Q a nected nto nozzle 43 at the top-of the as during the cleaning stage, the scrapers pump the plates 28.

. filteredoil.

supply'not shown into the suction of any controlled by a valve into the nozzle 14 and thence into the press. It, whenthe press is full, the 'c'ontents are not up to'the full tem perature of the source of supply as will be i the case the first timeit is used after a shut down) t may be heated by; circulat through'the source of supply by means or pipe 81 controlled by a valve 82 and branch pipe i The desired temperature being attained valve 84 is closed and, the pump bemgcontinued in operation, pressure is put onthe press,- 011 then flowsflthroughthe mediaand out of the press through p "25 S pe 32, cakesot clay accumulating on both ides Onleaving the pressthe .oil passes through a control cock 85- and througha metal b on I 86 containing sight glassesthrough which the size: and condition of the oil stream may be viewed. Union 87 connects this line 1nto the manifold 31B 88 controlled b a valve 89 situated above the uppermost einuent pipe and a valve 90 situated below the lowermost.

At the beginning of the filtration oil con taining small amounts of clayrnay be dis-v charged from the filter and such cloudy oil may be diverted through pipe 91 which cezn- I municates with the source of supply of uiithe filtrate diverted through pipe 92 i 'o cooler or directly into a receiving tanh for linishedoihnot shown. v p Y During the operation of the as w are kept in revolution attheir midposition, as shown lnldhg. 1 thus providing a consider- 'able degree of agitation otunfiltered miature.

Iflinspite'oi this agitation, the bottom plat I plates it quantity of oil through thepress,w-hich may ybe done by-c1osing valve 82 and partially opening valve 84, whlch Wlll permita portion of the 011 dlscharged by pump? 8 toreturn to the source of supply. It may be desirable to reverse the control or these valves,

- closing 8a completelyand partially. opening 82 which will permit the excess quantity of oil to make its way'direotly back into the suction of pump 78.

When the plates have accumulated the desired thickness of cake the next step is to empty the press. 'This is accomplished by 78 and discharged through a 'pipe 79' filterin As soon-as all of the plateshave beencleaned the valve89 may be opened and meansof St ampressiii placed on top of liquid by meansof the steam'pip'e 93 controlled by a valve 94 and communicating with a source of. supply of steamunder pressure,

The unfiltered mixture. contained in the tank may then beforce'd out 'byiclosi ng valve 80 '7 on the discharge vof pump 78 and opening valve 95 which con'trolsa branch-line96 con 7 nect-ing pipe 79 with-pipe" 77 which leads back to the source of supply. Liquid willdrain from the press forseveralfminutes, during which time the passage of a small. amount of steam through the pressshouldbecontinr. ued.-

* The press being drained wheat is ca e and thestop cocks 8 5 are thrown open, valve 89 being then closed and valve being opened, thisvalve controlling a pipe 98 leading to amea-ns for separating water or steam from oil. The steam which continues to flow into'the filter shell'will displace, to'a large extent, the oil contained in the cakes ofclay and will pass with it out of theefiluent pipes and through pipe'98.

It is usually the casethat some/cakes dry" out faster thanothers and when it 1sobserved by meansof sight glasses 86 thatany particular cake discharges only'steam, that plate may be shut oll'by closing the corresponding cock 85, thus diverting the steam supply to the other cakes which have not yet been' completely freed from oil. Thisoperation iscon-' tinned until all theclay cakes aresubstanl tially oil free.

' The stop "cocks 85 are then closed and the. bottom valve 15 opened. .Prior to ,opening' valve, ifth'epress is at a high temperatureor if for other reasons; 1t s des red to {entirely exclude air tromthe solid material discharged, a closed contalner'such as a car" with a substantially closed top may be placed in register with, the, bottom of nipple 16 so that a smallamount of steam passing through V the press willib'low outwardly through the aperture between the nipple and the'opening' in thevessel and exclude air. The scrapers,

twhich neednot be stopped at any time duringthe entire. operation, are then gradually raised untilthe cake accumulating on the lowerjsur'facesofthe filtering plates is scrapedfofi' and falls onto the plate nextv below 7 Having ally totheirlower limit, scraping into the central opening the clay'dislodged fromthe.

lower surface of the next above and that already present as cake on the upper surface;

This clay falls through the central opening19 reached the upper limit of their travel the scrapers are then loweredv grad n no i sloping gently toward the central opening, the purpose of this slope beingto assist the movement of the clay toward the center. This slope of the upper'surface is desirable but not essential. The movement of the clay toward the center of the apparatus is also greatly facilitated by constructing the scrapers in the manner shown in-plan in Fig. 4, in which the blades are given a for ward curvature in the direction indicated by the arrow. Inorder to prevent-the accumula tion of cake around the central opening in :the' bottom of the shell, it is also desirable to provide a scraper of the form indicated at 99 in Fig; 1, this scraper preferably b'eing curved as indicatedin Fig. .4.

The cleaning operation having bee ncom plcted, discharge valve 15 and steam valve 94:

are closed. 'P'ump discharge. valve 80 is opened and the pump started and of operations commences. a

If the press is .to be used at an elevated temperature as in the filtering of hot lubricating oils, the press and all its pipes and connectionswill be heavily insulated. A r

a new cycle For purpose where the maintenance of a high temperature throughout the filtering operation is of importance, this press has material I advantages over types heretofore known. Once the temperature of the press is established it need never be lowered, as the loss'of heat through properly applied insulation is negligibleand the o'nly'hea-t lost in discharging the press is that due to cooling by the steam passed through'the cakes and passing out of the outlet during the cleaning stage, and thisloss may be entirely obviated V by 'prehea-ting the steam to the temperature ing shell, the pressure on the two sidesof each plate being in balance so. that 110 'S lrain is placed on-th-e plates-themselves. These factors make it possible to handle materials, such as'extremely hot oils, which it would be impossible to handle in a filter press of ordir nary construction in which it is. necessary to bring the cake and large superficial areas of the metal of the press into contact with the air during the cleaning period. i

The entirely enclosed construction of the press also makes it possible to handle liquids which give off- 'poisonous orobnoxious gases, asby the simplestprecantionssuch gases may be withdrawn from the receptacle intohich the cake is discharged an conducted to a place wheretheymay be disposed of with safety. 1

*I'do -not limit myself to the exact structure disclosed,- as it obviously be" varied :in

many details without in the least departing from the spirit of my invention; which I limit solely by the scope of the attached claims. I claim as my'invention: 7

V 1. A filter press adapted to besupportedina fixed vertical position, comprising: a cylindrical substantially closedshell havingheads,

the upper of said heads beingfr'emovable; a

nozzle of relatively large diameter vcentrally atllned to the bottom head and'a closure for cent the wall of said-she'll adaptedtospace said plates and form chambers therebetween;

said plates having central openings-aligned With a'nd of substantially the same diameter as said nozzle; corrugations on both surfaces of eachisa id plate; means for the passage of liquids from said corrugations into a threaded radial openingli'ormed on the circumference of each said plate; a filteringmedium attached to each side ofeach said plateand covering said corrugations; a stufiing box at? tached to the wall of said shell and an opening through said "wall alignment :with said threaded opening;

a conductor forliquids its said nozzle; a plura'l'ityof horizontal filter-P plates'stacked within said shell; rings adja passing through said stuffing box and said i shell and removably screwed into said thread ed opening; a vertical shaft axially supported within said shell and said central openings in said plates, and passing through the upper of said heads; scrapers removably attached 3 to and revolved :by said shaft; the normal position of each said scraper being midway between the two adjacent plates; means-for revolving said scrapers: meansforraisin'g and lowering said shaft while revolving,whereby said scraper is caused to removesolids from a r the lower side of the plate above on upward movement of said'shaft and from thenpper side of the plate-below on'downwa-rdmovement of'said shaft; means for introducing liquid to be filtered into said shell; means for introducing steam into said shell and means tor circulating liquids upwardly through said shell" "2. A filter press adapted to be supported r in a fixed vertical position, comprising; a

cylindrical substantially closed shell having heads, the upper of said headsbeing removable;anoz zleof Relatively large diameter centrally atfixed to the bottom head and a closure itersaid nozzle; a plurality of horizontal metallic filter plates stacked within said shell having vertically projecting rims adapted to space said plates and form chambers thenc E between, said plates having central openings aligned with and of substantiallythe same .di-

ameter as said. nozzle; ciorrugationson both suriaces of each said plate; the upper surface of each plate sloping toward said cenztr'al opening; means for-thepassage of liquids from said corrugations into a threaded radial opening'formed on the circumference ref-each said plate; a filtering medium attached toeach side of'each said platev and covering said corrugations; a stufiing box attached'to'the wall'of said shell and an opening through said wall in alignment with said ,threaded'opening; a conductor for liquids passing through saidstufiing box and said shell andremoy'ablyscrewed i ntosaid threadedo'pening; a vertical .shaft axially v supportied Within said shell and said central openings insaid plates, and passing through the upper of'lsaid heads; scrapers removably attached to and revolved by said shaft, thenormal po-V solids-from the lowerside ofthe plate abot'e on upwardmovement of said shaft and from the upper side {of the plate below on downward movementof said'shaft and means for introducing liquid to be filtered into said shell and means for introducing steam into said shell. i 3. A filterepressadapted to be supported in affixed vertical position, comprising: a

v cylindricalsubstantially closed shell having heads, the upper of said headsbeing remov-' able; a nozzle of relatively largediameter V centrally aflixed to the bottom'head and a closure for saidnozzle; aplurality of horizontalfilterplates stacked within said shell and having vertically projecting rims adaptedto "space said platesand formchambers therebetween, said plates jhaving central openings aligned with and of substantially the sameediameter as said nozzle; corrugations on both surfaces of each said plate: means for the passage of liquids from said corrugations into a'threaded radial opening formed on the circumference of "each said platei -a filtering medium attached to each sideofeachsaid plateand covering said corrugations; a stuffing box attached to the wall ofsaid shell and'an openingthrough said wall in alignment with said threaded openinsz: ajconductor for liquids passing through said stufiing box and said shell and removably screwed into said threaded opening; a

vertical shaft axially supported withinsaid shell and said central openings in said plates, and'passing' throughthe upper of said. heads: scrapers removably attached to and revolved by said shaft, the normal osition of each said scraper being midwai between the two adjacent plates; means for revolving said shaft meansfor raising and lowering said shaft-while revolving, whereby said scraper is-eaused to remove" solids from thelower side of the plate above on upward movement of said shaft and from theupper side of the plate below; on downward movement of said shaft; means for introducing liquidv to. be

filtered into said shell:, and means for intro- -,ducingfsteam into said shell.

4. In a device substantially as and for freely on said shaft, and open coil springs around said shaft between said scrapers and between-the end scrapers and -the bearing 1 3 boxes supporting saidshaft, said'springsbeing of suchlength'and tension as to -hold. said scrapers centrally spaced, between. said gfilter'ing plates whenfsaid shaft is midway its vertical travel, and flanges vertically projecting from said plates around, said central a the purpose-set forth in claim ,3, ameans 7 i for preventing scraping contact between-said openings and adapted toprevent contact-be-- V tween said scraper andsaid filtering medium" when each said, scraperisurged toward; a contiguous plate by the pressure exerted by the springs behind said scraper when said shaft is moved vertically in'eithe'r direction.

V 5.'A filter press adapted to besupported in afixed vertical position, comprising: a

cylindrical substantially closedshell having heads, the upper of said heads'being removable; a nozzle of relativelyjlargeldiameter i centrally affixed to the bottom, head and, a

closure for said nozzle; a plurality of horizontal metallic filter plates stacked within said shelland rings adjacent'the wall of said shell adapted to space said plates and form chambers therebetween, said plates'having central openings aligned with and of sub-- stantially the same'diameter as said nozzle:

'corrugationson both surfaces'of' each said plate; channels for the passage of liquids from said corrugations to the exterior of said shell; a filtering medium attached to each side of each said plate and covering said corrugations; a vertical shaft axially sup-' ported within said shell and said central openings in'said plates, and passing through the upper of said heads: scrapers removably attached to andrevolvedbv said shaft, the

normal position of each said scraper-being midwav between the two adjacent plates;

meansfor revolvingsaid scrapers; means for raising and lowering sa d shaft while revolv1ng,-whereby said scraper is caused to remove solids from the lower SlClQ of theplateab-ove on upward movement of said shaft and from the upper side of the plate below on downward movement of said shaftand means for introducing liquid to be filtered into said shell.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed'myname this 25th day of February. 1930. p v

V PAULW.PRUTZMAN. 

